Flight Systems Futures - GN&C Engineer 3/4

This role is for a Principal or Sr. Principal GN&C Engineer within Northrop Grumman Defense Systems, supporting Flight Systems Futures in Roy, Utah. The engineer will develop and mature guidance and control algorithms, guidance laws for trajectory shaping, and high-fidelity 6-DOF flight simulations for complex aerospace systems. Responsibilities include designing guidance laws, tuning control laws, performing trajectory and accuracy assessments, and integrating algorithms into simulation and flight software. The role involves collaboration with multidisciplinary teams and the GN&C flight software team to transition algorithms into flight-worthy implementations.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with a team of GN&C engineers in an Agile environment to meet critical milestones
• Develop, verify, and validate guidance and control algorithms, including guidance laws for trajectory shaping, and 6-DOF flight simulations in a multi-disciplinary team environment
• Perform trajectory assessment, flight analyses, covariance analysis, and CEP/accuracy evaluations
• Enhance and maintain G&C analysis tools to support new mission requirements and performance tuning
• Apply trajectory optimization and nonlinear control techniques to improve missile trajectory performance.
• Participate in engineering review boards, technical interchange meetings, and critical milestone reviews
• Work with the GN&C Flight Software Team to automatically generate code from high-level specifications or models, ensuring consistency and reducing manual errors
• Model key subsystems such as IMUs, control actuators, and propulsion / thrust-vector control for use in G&C design and simulation
• Use C++ and MATLAB with object-oriented design principles to implement and analyze G&C software
• Collaborate closely with GN&C flight software teams to transition guidance and control algorithms into flight-worthy implementations

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in STEM and 5 years of experience, 3 years of experience with master’s degree, 0 years of experience with PhD.
• Must have an active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with an investigation date within the last 6 years
• Must have the ability to obtain Top Secret Clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) within a reasonable period as determined by the business needs of the company.
• 1 year of experience developing autopilot algorithms for flight vehicles
• 1 year of experience with guidance law design for trajectory shaping and precision impact requirements.
• 1 year of experience with MATLAB/Simulink for modeling, simulation, and code generation
• 1 year of experience working in multidisciplinary teams (aero, structures, thermal, software)
• Bachelor's degree in STEM and 8 years of experience, 6 years of experience with master’s degree, 4 years of experience with PhD.
• Must have an active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with an investigation date within the last 6 years
• Must have current Special Access Program (SAP) approval at time of hire.
• 2 years of experience developing autopilot algorithms for flight vehicles
• 2 years of experience with guidance law design for trajectory shaping and precision impact requirements.
• 3 years of experience with MATLAB/Simulink for modeling, simulation, and code generation
• 2 years of experience working in multidisciplinary teams (aero, structures, thermal, software)

Nice to have

• Knowledge of Navigation and sensor fusion (INS, GPS, star tracker, lidar)
• Knowledge of Flight dynamics of high Mach vehicles (aerodynamics, thermodynamics, propulsion integration)
• Knowledge of Advanced control theory (state space, optimal, robust, nonlinear, adaptive)
• Proven track record of troubleshooting complex real time systems
• Knowledge of Real-time embedded systems and hard real-time constraints
• Experience in deploying algorithms to software, hardware, and testing.
• Python for data analysis & rapid prototyping
• Use of version control (Git) and CI/CD pipelines
• Familiarity with real-time operating systems
• Experience with hardware in the loop (HIL) and software in the loop (SIL) testbeds
• Use of Monte Carlo, robustness, and performance analysis tools
• Participation in at least one flight test program (e.g., sounding rocket, missile, UAV)
• Knowledge of test article instrumentation, telemetry, and fault diagnostics
• Familiarity with hypersonic phenomena: shock wave interactions, real gas effects, ablative heating, plasma communication blackout
• Experience evaluating impacts of control effectors on guidance and control (latency, bandwidth, etc)
• Experience evaluating impacts of navigation sensors on guidance and control (latency, frequency, etc)
• Experience developing targeting and guidance laws for hypersonic vehicles.
• Experience with linear stability analysis to determine control system stability margins
• Experience integrating guidance law design with navigation and control to achieve stringent terminal accuracy and precision impact requirements in contested environments.
• Proficiency in C/C++ for embedded code (preferably MISRA C compliant)

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
• 401k
• Educational Assistance
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
• Paid Time Off
• Health & Wellness Resources
• Employee Discounts